Ontario’s Fire Marshal, Jon Pegg, is encouraging all Ontarians to participate in “Test Your Smoke Alarm Day” on September 28, 2023 to ensure every residence has working smoke alarms after a troubling 133 fire fatalities last year – the largest number of fire-related deaths in 20 years.
“Within Ontario, we’ve seen a significant rise in fatal fires and the number of people we have lost in these fires is very concerning,” said Pegg. “Entire families have been lost to fire and the most troubling part is that the majority of these fires did not have a working smoke alarm in the home. Had there been working smoke alarms and a well thought out and practiced home fire escape plan, these deaths could have been prevented.”
Smoke alarms have been legally required to be installed on every storey of a residence in Ontario since 2006.
“Test Your Smoke Alarm Day” marks the first day of action to promote installing and testing working smoke alarms in every home in Ontario and is part of a broader strategy by the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) to bring attention to the importance of having working smoke alarms.
The OFM is asking all Ontarians to test the smoke alarms in their residence on September 28, 2023 by pressing the test button and making sure they are in working order. Only working smoke alarms will alert you to a fire and give you and your loved ones enough time to safely escape.
Today’s announcement comes at the end of “Operation SAFER” – a two-day summit that brought members of Ontario’s fire services together with fire safety stakeholders, fire safety educators, and municipal safety representatives to discuss strategies and challenge the status quo through smoke alarm public education in Ontario.
“Smoke alarms save lives. Every home in Ontario should have one,” said Michael Kerzner, Solicitor General of Ontario. “Smoke alarms are widely available, easy to install and effective. I urge all people to get one and make sure you check the batteries on a regular basis. It’s one of the best ways to keep your family safe from fire.”
Though fire safety experts say to test smoke alarms at least once a month, a recent survey suggests that only 15 per cent of people admitted to doing so.
“We need to change the channel on how Ontario residents think about smoke alarms and if we can start with getting into the habit of installing and regularly testing alarms, we can save lives,” said Rob Grimwood, President of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs. “Being confident that you have working smoke alarms only happens if they are tested once a month, batteries are replaced once a year, and the alarms are not older than 10 years.”
- Most fatal fires occur in homes that do not have working smoke alarms.
- Test Your Smoke Alarm Day will take place the week before “Fire Prevention Week” which runs October 8 – 14, 2023.
- The Operation SAFER (Smoke Alarms For Every Residence) Summit was held in Vaughan June 13-14, 2023 with over 350 delegates from across Ontario in attendance.